Thousands of diesel car owners are looking to offload their vehicles before the value of their cars plummet.

According to the car buying website Motorway.co.uk, some 56 per cent of all enquiries were drivers looking to sell diesel cars even though less than 48 per cent of vehicles on the road are diesel.

It is predicted that there will be a 15 per cent drop in the value of a second-hand diesel by the end of 2017 wiping more than £17billion off the net worth of diesel car owners

The website says this surge in enquiries from diesel sellers follows a double dose of bad news in April for diesel owners already facing the prospect of a 'toxin tax'. Firstly, London Mayor Sadiq Khan stated he will bring forward the introduction of an ultra-low emission zone to April 2019, and increased congestion charges on high-polluting cars. The Government then hinted that it was considering introducing a diesel car scrappage scheme.

A survey of almost 1,000 diesel car owners across the UK carried out by Motorway.co.uk also revealed that 18.9 per cent of diesel owners said they will be looking to sell their car over the next 12 months to avoid paying additional taxes.

Alex Buttle, Director of Motorway.co.uk said: "Diesel car owners have been hit with a triple whammy of bad news. The proposed UK-wide toxin tax, the early introduction of a London ultra-low emission zone and the probability that the Government will implement a diesel scrappage scheme, has left diesel car owners questioning their choice of ownership.

"We have not seen a major fall in diesel car valuations on our website just yet, but the surge we have seen in diesel selling suggests the market will quickly become saturated.

"Coupled with falling demand for 'dirty diesels', this means a price drop is inevitable. This has already happened in Germany, where similar diesel regulations led to a 19 per cent drop in the average price of diesel cars this year.

"As car buyers opt for cleaner, 'punishment-free' fuel options, we believe there will be an increase in the share of petrol, hybrid and electric vehicle sales in the months ahead."

Readers' comments:

Mike Lawrence: They can rush but they're not going to get much.

I have two diesels at the moment and have had for years. One is 2002 and the other 2014.

Apart from the threats of 'pollution tax', there are many good reasons for owning one.

Indeed HMG were seen recommending them a short while ago as being good for pollution . That's why we bought the last one. It's a 4WD dog carrier and shopping trolley, which it excels at.

HMG are going to have to be very careful as so many have newer ones than mine and they are not going to take kindly to losing some £10-20K and getting splatted everywhere by high taxes and surcharges. It will affect voting intentions.

I favour the Swiss approach. If you are in a queue of more than five cars then you must switch your engine off. It's been like that for some years and it works.

It would be a good starter for 10 on the question of diesels. In a decade or so the problem will be self solving if HMG make it a little obvious when you buy a newish one.

A small tax addendum, perhaps. Just don't hit the current drivers unless it's years old and a little past its prime, like my SAAB. Then no tears will be shed, particularly if there's a tax advantage for us.